Police commissioners told mayors will replace them

Some parts of Suffolk and Norfolk's police forces have been working alongside each other for years

The government has formally told the police and crime commissioners (PCC) for Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex that their posts will be abolished in two years' time.

Local Government Minister Jim McMahon and Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson has told them that new elected mayors would take over their responsibilities.

Suffolk PCC Tim Passmore said the change would be a "huge workload" for the new mayor.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been contacted for comment.

Tim Passmore, PCC for Suffolk, has questioned why the change was needed

Elections for a directly elected mayor for Norfolk and Suffolk and another for Essex are due to take place next year.

It is part of an attempt by the government to give local communities more of a say over the provision of local services.

The mayors will be responsible for overseeing economic development , planning, transport, training and skills.

Now ministers have decided to give them control of the police, replacing elected PCCs, who first took office in 2012.

They set the budget and policing priorities for a county, and appoint and hold the chief constable to account.

Elections for a four-year term were held last year with Labour's Sarah Taylor winning the post in Norfolk, and Conservatives Passmore and Roger Hirst being re-elected in Suffolk and Essex respectively.

Hirst also oversees the fire service.

Ministers had suggested that the powers of PCCs could be transferred to mayors, which has already happened in some other parts of the country.

It has now confirmed in meeting with PCCs and a follow-up letter that their terms will end a year early in April 2027.

Sarah Taylor says the change would make her "Norfolk's shortest-serving PCC"

Passmore, the PCC for Suffolk ever since the post was created, questioned why the change was needed, particularly given that the mayor for Norfolk and Suffolk would oversee two police forces.

"My concern is that one person will have to set two different budgets," he said.

"This is a huge workload and how is it going to be better than the status quo?"

He hopes to be chosen as a candidate for mayor.

Taylor told the BBC: "This will mean that I am not only Labour's first police and crime commissioner for Norfolk, but I will also be Norfolk's shortest-serving PCC."

She said her "primary focus" was to make sure services were not affected while the PCCs' roles were transferred to the mayor.

Hirst, who hopes to stand as mayor in Essex, was approached for comment.